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Kickfin Review

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Kickfin is a relatively new credit card processing company, opening its doors in 2017 in San Francisco. It offers a flat rate subscription model. What does that mean, and is it the right choice for your business?
We’ll take a look at that as well as services and customer opinions, in this Kickfin review.

Flat Rate Subscription Pricing

As noted above, Kickfin offers flat rate subscription pricing, similar to companies like Payment Depot. Flat rate subscription pricing is a form of pricing where the processor charges you the cost of interchange, a monthly or annual subscription fee, and a per-transaction fee.

The nice thing about flat rate subscription pricing is that the processor will publish the rates and fees you’ll pay, which doesn’t always happen with other pricing models. Kickfin publishes their pricing for three different types of businesses, which we’ll get into a little later in this review.

Flat Rate Subscription and Interchange

To get a better understanding of flat rate subscription pricing, it’s important to have an understanding of interchange. Interchange costs (which are paid to the banks that issue credit cards) are the same for every processor, and consist of a percentage rate and a per-transaction fee. No matter what type of pricing model you’re on, interchange makes up the bulk of your transaction cost, whether you see it or not. (On certain pricing models, such as interchange plus and flat rate subscription pricing, interchange will be visible on your processing statements. On other pricing models, such as flat rate percentage pricing or tiered pricing, interchange is not shown on your statement.) You can think of interchange as the “wholesale” cost of credit card processing. Anything you pay over interchange is the “markup.”

The most transparent pricing models will show you what you paid in interchange, which also allows you to see what you’ve paid as a markup. The closer you pay to wholesale, the better.

Flat rate subscription pricing allows you to see interchange and provides a fixed markup, which makes it easier to compare to other options. Flat rate subscription pricing has the potential to be the lowest cost solution for your business, just don’t assume that it is automatically. You’ll still need to compare the markups.

Remember, the 0% only refers to the processor’s percentage markup, and doesn’t include the costs of interchange, which makes up the bulk of credit card processing fees. In some cases, 0% markup may be the right choice for your business and in others it may not be. We’ve done some example math to show you how a 0% processing solution isn’t automatically the least expensive. You can check the math yourself in our article Flat Rate Subscription Merchant Accounts.

If you need more help determining if flat rate subscription is the right option for you, sign up for a free comparison account to see quotes from multiple processors and then give us a call here at CardFellow for assistance.

Kickfin Pricing

As a flat rate subscription company, Kickfin doesn’t use “teaser” or “starting” rates. Instead, they publish the actual markups you’ll be charged. Just remember that these rates and fees are on top of interchange, which is out of Kickfin’s hands.

For example, Kickfin’s published pricing (screenshot below) shows costs for a small retailer of $99/month with a 5-cent transaction fee. But keep in mind that’s not the full cost picture. You can also expect to pay interchange rates starting around 1.51% + 10 cents per transaction for common non-rewards Visa cards, for example.

Kickfin is upfront about the fact that you’ll pay interchange, listing it as “true cost interchange” in each of the pricing packages. That means Kickfin will pass interchange to you at cost, which is a good thing.

If you’re a small business swiping credit cards and processing less than $1 million/year, you’ll pay interchange plus $99/month plus 5 cents per transaction.

If you’re a small business processing less than $1 million/year and accepting cards online, you’ll pay interchange plus $79/month plus 15 cents per transaction.

Kickfin also notes that it doesn’t charge statement fees, PCI compliance fees, or batch fees, but it may charge fees for specific occurrences, such as chargebacks.

Payment Services

You can take major credit and debit cards through all of the available channels with Kickfin. The company offers traditional countertop terminals, POS systems, and ecommerce options, as well as mobile processing using a smartphone.

In Person

In-person transactions are quick and secure with countertop terminals or POS systems. Depending on the machine you use, you may be able to accept contactless payments (such as Apple Pay) in addition to magnetic stripe and EMV chip cards.

If you’re interested in a full point of sale system, Kickfin will work with you to choose the right option. The company offers a choice of many popular brands, including ShopKeep, NCR, Micros, Bindo, TouchBistro, Revel, and more.

Ecommerce

For ecommerce, you can integrate payments with the MX Merchant gateway with no additional gateway fees. Kickfin will work with you to set up your secure online system and can enable features such as subcategories, multiple product images, and more.

Mobile

Mobile payments are available for Apple devices, allowing you to take cards on the go. Note that mobile processing is not currently available for Android.

You can accept payments, process voids and returns, allow customers to add tips, and choose whether to print or email receipts at the end of a transaction. Kickfin offers the MX Merchant suite of mobile options and recommends the AnywhereCommerce Walker C2X EMV-capable reader, though some Magtek and IDTech readers are also supported.

Online Ordering

Food service businesses that offer takeout and delivery may be interested in Kickfin’s online ordering option. With a customizable and mobile-friendly interface and secure payment portal, customers can easily place their orders and pay right from their smartphone or computer.

Note that the online ordering solution has a one-time set up fee and separate costs for business generated through the system. You can choose from a $139/month plan or pay by order at a cost of $1.50/order. For a quick estimate, if you take 100 orders or fewer per month, it will be cheaper to pay per order. If you take more than 100 orders, the monthly plan will cost less.

ACH Payments

Kickfin offers ACH payment capabilities, allowing you to automate payments including payroll, vendor payments, and more. Kickfin’s web-based ACH solution not only processes ACH transactions, but tracks and reports on all ACH payments.

Invoicing

For businesses that regularly invoice customers, Kickfin offers a customizable invoice template that lets you include your logo, message, and information like a return policy. Your customers receive a link to their invoice with the option to pay securely by credit card. You can also set up recurring billing with the invoicing system.

Large Ticket B2B Processing

Any business that accepts corporate or government credit cards should know about level 2 and level 3 data. When level 2 or 3 data is properly provided, you may qualify for lower cost interchange categories, saving you money on those transactions. Kickfin offers a B2B payment app that helps ensure you provide level 2 or level 3 data with no additional work on your part. The app will fill out missing fields to help you achieve lower cost interchange categories.

If this sounds confusing but your business takes corporate credit cards, check out our complete guide to understanding B2B payments.

Cash Advances

Merchant cash advances, also referred to as working capital, aren’t loans in the traditional sense. Rather, a company will “purchase” a percentage of your future credit card sales and give you money upfront. You’ll repay the advance through a deduction of your daily credit card sales until the borrowed amount plus an agreed-upon fee is repaid.

Kickfin offers such a program. In some cases, cash advances can be a good option, especially for businesses that don’t qualify for traditional small business loans. However, it’s important to look at all the fees associated, as cash advances may be more expensive than small business loans.

Gift Cards

For businesses looking to take advantage of the popularity of gift cards, Kickfin offers a customizable gift card program. You can choose from e-gift cards or physical, reloadable cards. Cards can be customized or you can choose a pre-designed option.

Custom

If you want custom cards, a $100 set up fee applies and you’ll need to order a minimum of 500 cards. It will cost 95 cents per card for 500-999 cards, 75 cents per card for 1000 - 1,999 cards, or 65 cents per card for 2,000 or more cards.

Standard

If you’d prefer the pre-designed cards, the set up fee is only $15 and the minimum order quantity is 125 cards. It will cost 65 cents per card for 125-249 cards, 55 cents per card for 250-499 cards, and 50 cents per card for 500 or more cards.

There is no transaction cost when redeeming cards for either package.

Kickfin Reviews

For a newer business, Kickfin has done a good job of collecting reviews on the web. While the company doesn’t have a profile with the Better Business Bureau, it has 20 reviews (all 5 stars) on Google Reviews. Typically, we only see a handful, if any, reviews in the first few years of a company’s existence.

The Google reviews praise Kickfin for ethical practices, a down-to-earth approach to merchant services, understanding small business needs, great customer service, and high levels of professionalism.

Do you use Kickfin at your business? Let us know what you think. Leave a review!

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0/5

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4/5

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Posted by Darrell Cox on Dec 06, 2017

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5/5

I was so impressed by Kickfin's straight-up approach. They were friendly and down-to-earth. Made the whole switching over process so easy. And I'm saving almost 30-35% on each month's statement. Thanks guys!!

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3/5

Thank you! We pride ourselves on being both transparent but above all: educational. Financial literacy and empowerment are key cornerstones to our business. I see that you felt your experience with us was three-stars. What can we do to improve your experience with us? Constant improvement and merchant-centric support are key to our business. We’d love to hear from you!

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